the rat race

noun

: the unpleasant life of people who have jobs that require them to work very hard in order to compete with others for money, power, status, etc.

She is quitting the rat race to spend time with her family.

Examples of the rat race in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

With high demand and strong career projections for each of these remote roles, 2025 is your chance to break away from the rat race, define your working hours around your lifestyle, and enjoy your job instead of grinding to the point of burnout every day. —Rachel Wells, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2025

My worst day at Fig Tree still far exceeds my best days in commercial construction in the rat race. —Jennifer Castenson, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

The golden nugget that’ll take you and yours out of the rat race. —Andy Andersen, Vulture, 21 Mar. 2025

In Riff Raff, Coolidge’s Ruth is the ex-wife of Vincent (Ed Harris), a former hitman who has found peace with a new wife, Sandy (Gabriel Union) and son, DJ (Miles J. Harvey) in a remote abode far away from the rat race. —Tim Lammers, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Or is there value in those who can’t or won’t partake in the rat race, namely the average majority whose time alive may leave no indelible mark? —Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 11 Mar. 2025

The Delinquents is a movie about how each man changes with the promise of a life away from the rat race, a life free of obligation and soul-crushing routine. —Kevin Lincoln, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025

Instead of getting lost in the rat race, pull aside for a pit stop. —Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 29 Oct. 2024

Speaking of the rat race, our very own Jeffrey Van Camp, who edits the WIRED reviews section, is one of those people who's been trying to get a PS5. —Wired Staff, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2021

Rhymes for the rat race

• aerospace
• anatase
• anyplace
• commonplace
• cyberspace
• database
• diabase
• diastase
• dnase
• elastase
• fireplace
• hyperspace